Meatless Mondays in the San Diego Unified School District

Meatless Monday is an international movement to help people reduce their meat consumption by 15% to improve personal health and the health of the planet. There would be no shortage of wonderful vegetarian options for school lunches and other meals. A small selection includes: baked beans, garden burgers, grilled veggie fajitas, vegetarian chili, falafel in a pita, pasta (primavera, ravioli, lasagna, or other pastas with veggies), bean & vegetable burritos, grilled vegetable panini, vegetable wraps, eggplant subs with low-fat mozzarella, tofu & vegetable stir-fry, vegetable fried rice, and vegetarian tacos. These options would also be significantly cheaper to get than the meat provided in school lunches so it benefits both student's health and school budget.

Letter to

School Board Members of San Diego Unified School District

Research has shown that reducing meat intake may reduce your risk of chronic preventable conditions like cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and obesity. Nearly 28% of children living in San Diego County are overweight or obese, and therefore are at increased risk of developing these preventable diseases. The economic costs associated with obesity and physical inactivity in California are estimated at $41.2 billion. Plant-based vegetarian meals help to reduce reliance on factory farmed animals. Meatless meals will also help cut your carbon footprint and save precious resources like fresh water and clean air. The United Nations recognizes that "Livestock are one of the most significant contributors to today's most serious environmental problems" and reducing the amount of animal-based foods we eat is probably the simplest way to lower our carbon footprint. So we would like to suggest the implementation of Meatless Monday program to all schools within the SD Unified School District. For more insight into the program, the program's official website is: http://www.meatlessmonday.com/